11 December, 2012

5 Ways to Get Instant Beach House Style

You can live miles from the beach but still get the look

with just a few essential ingredients…

Get au naturelNot yourself, obviously, but the materials in your home. Textures, decorations, colours and scents inspired by nature and the sea are the easiest way to make you think you were there. Think sea grass mats, starfish and shells dotted around your bookshelves, a piece of driftwood on the coffee table, a frangipani-scented candle, bamboo blinds or unbleached linen curtains. Even a glass hurricane lamp filled with sand and with a candle popped in the middle with scream ‘the beach‘!

Let there be light One thing beach houses have in common is an abundance of light to give that airy, breezy feel. If you don’t have enough yourself, paint the walls white and try to leave the windows as minimal as possible - think thin flowy see-through curtains or shutters that can be opened entirely during the day. Lighter furniture is also one way to create the illusion of light - a white couch cover will give the oldest, darkest couch a beachy feel.

Fall in love with stripes Nothing says nautical and therefore beachy quite like stripes - especially in blue! It’s a simple addition that won’t cost much either - cushions of all kinds, striped upholstery furniture, napkins or a hammock all look great in stripes.

Colour your world Choose your colour palette with references to the sea - blues, turquoise, aqua, soft sands, white and whitewashed woods. Dark woods also work well as a contrast and are better than black which is more suited to sleeker homes. Pair crisp white walls with a display shelf of range of glass vases in various shades of blues and greens, give your foyer a lick of turquoise paint, pop a whitewashed dresser up against it and hang a pearl or shell mirror above it for a calming, holiday feel the moment you walk through the door, or add dashes of ocean colour through paintings or photographs of the sea.

Head outdoorsGive your outdoor a room a Hamptons makeover - deck chairs, sun umbrellas, adirondack chairs, outdoor cushions, hurricane lamps and sea grass mats. Make it like a real living room but exposed to the elements. It doesn’t get much beachy than that!

lOve all these images! Though I am not a stripe girl and I know stripes are very coastal, nautical, beach. Stripes make me feel weird! I do love au naturel...and that first image! Merry Christmastide. ox